


Butterflies and Buttercups

by Acting4Hope



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternative Universe- Everyone Lives, Alternative Universe- Post-pacifist run, Mild Cursing, charaandfriskweek, cool magic stuffs, mild mentions of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 09:23:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8007859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acting4Hope/pseuds/Acting4Hope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chara has a rough day at school, and Frisk has to help make them feel validated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Butterflies and Buttercups

**Author's Note:**

> for @charaandfriskweek day 2: magic!!! 
> 
> this is a little more downtrodden that yesterdays prompt, and it has to do with some fun magic headcanons!! if you'd like to hear about them, i'll put them in the notes at the end!! 
> 
> anyway, enjoy!!

Sunlight shone through the leaves, leaving sprinkled patches of light scattered all over the grassy floor. The birds chirped merrily to one another in the distance, and the melodious sounds of their conversation could be heard from the corner of the forest a child was currently hiding in. The trees covered the child in a protective layer of bark and secrecy. A butterfly fluttered toward the child from an unknown land and settled itself on a stray leaf that was in front of the child. The child watched the butterfly close its wings and take a quick rest before taking flight once more. The child wished they could be that butterfly. Just take to the sky and leave all their troubles behind without a care in the world as to where they were going. To have the wind and sky as their sole companion as they followed the currents to their next destination. 

 

Sadly, they could not be a butterfly; they could only be what they are now. A human. A human who has every care in the world and is slowly sinking in them. A human who should not be here right now, and sometimes really wishes they weren’t. A human that feels they don’t belong, and probably never will. A human with a strange smile, a freckled face, bright red hair, and crimson eyes that their townspeople used to call “demonic”. 

 

A human that messed up. A human that  _ keeps  _ messing up. 

 

“Chara?” Suddenly, a voice could be heard, hoarse but concerned. Chara jerked, backing further into the protective cover of the trees. They did not want to be found now or ever again. They wanted to live in the woods, surviving in solitude and on the bare necessities. Maybe they could become friends with the local woodland creatures, and they could aid them in the cold winter and Chara could aid them when hunting season rolled around. They could live in the woods and never have to worry about anyone other than themself, maybe even grow a cool beard. 

 

“Chara? You here?” The voice called again, forcing Chara to move even further. Their back was to the tree now, and they curled up in a ball so they could avoid being seen. They prayed that their sweater and slacks could blend in with the foliage, and that whoever was looking for them would go away. Then they could disappear in peace; just drift off the face of the planet with no one knowing where they went. 

 

“Chara!” The voice called out very close to Chara’s position. Drats, they’d been seen. Chara did not even bother to look at the unfortunate soul who has found them hidden amongst the trees; they knew from the slight strain on their soul who it was. 

 

It was Frisk; Chara’s soul-tied sibling and “better half”, as Chara secretly calls them. It came to no surprise that Frisk would be the one to find them; their soul connection allows the two to find each other with complete ease. Sometimes Chara wanted that soul bond to be gone, along with their own soul. They longed for their days as an ever-watchful ghost; an observer to all that occurred around them. 

 

The sound of leaves crunching came closer and closer, then stopped about a foot from Chara. Then, there was a sound of something landing on the ground, along with a small “oompf”. The birds continued to chirp as silence spread out between the two siblings. After about a minute, Frisk coughed into their hand, trying to prompt Chara to roll over and look at them. They had been calling out Chara’s name for a solid hour, wandering around these woods, and they would prefer it if they could stop talking verbally now. But it would seem that Chara was not going to budge any time soon, so they would need to struggle through the pounding in their ears for now. 

 

“What happened, Chara?” Frisk whispered. “No one’s seen you since lunch, and your Math teacher said you didn’t come into class today. Have you been here all day?” Chara did not make a sound, nor move an inch from their current position. Frisk sighed. “Hey, do you mind turning around? My ears have already started to hurt and I’m going to move into the trembling phase soon if I keep this up.” Chara did not move, and just as Frisk was about to suck it up and keep asking questions, Chara rolled over to face them. Their eyes were glossy with tears and their nose was a bright red. It hurt Frisk to see Chara like that; they hate it whenever Chara cries. It makes Frisk feel like they didn’t do enough to prevent the sadness from seeping inside. Still, they were glad they did not need to speak anymore, and raised their hands to sign. 

 

“ _ Did someone trigger you _ ?” Frisk asked. “ _ Who do I need to get Undyne to punch _ ?” This would normally make Chara giggle or crack a smile, if the situation was less serious, but Chara kept their resolve and shook their head no. Frisk frowned. “ _ Did you...Do something _ ?  _ Did you have another flashback _ ?” Chara grunted, tears pouring from their eyes, as they nodded. Frisk felt a sharp pang of sadness hit them, and suddenly they were drawn into Chara’s memories. 

 

\--- 

 

“These fucking hallways,” Chara thought to themself as they pushed past a couple to get to the stairwell. They still had no idea how teachers expected kids to be on-time when they only had five minutes to make it halfway across the school and up three flights of steps, all the while pushing past idiots who walked way too slow. To add to it, they had to lug around this huge math textbook, along with a bag full of notebooks, folders, and binders full of junk. 

 

“Two more classes until band,” Chara thought as they were almost tripped for the fifth time. “Two more stupid classes, and then you can rant to Mr. Mark. Two. Classes.” Band was the only thing keeping Chara in this school, besides their English class, which was taught by their mother. They played clarinet for the band, but they were in the process of learning trumpet with the band teacher, as well as trombone with Sans. Chara loved to play instruments and they hoped to have mastered every major instrument by the time they graduate. 

 

They would not be thinking of band much longer, because reality became evident once more as Chara’s face met the cold hard tile of the hallway. Their nose blossomed red with blood, and they were certain they broke it. They could hear laughter coming from above them, and they suppressed a growl as they lifted themself off the ground and back onto their feet. The kids in front of them were Chara’s usual pests; a group of seventh and eighth graders who hated them and thought their mother was awful, mainly because she kept failing them. 

 

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” One of the boys stated, his grin foolish. “Y-You might trip and fall!” He could barely keep himself together, and burst into laughter once more. “Man, I can’t believe your nose is fucking bleeding! Are you  _ really  _ that weak?” Chara stiffened, reaching up to feel their nose. It hurt immensely, and when Chara removed their hand, they could their fingers covered in blood. Yikes, that’s definitely going to stain their sweater. Somehow, that made Chara the angriest of all. 

 

Chara was not going to let their anger take over. They had taken that path far too many times, and without resets, they had experienced the consequences for such a path far too many times. They gripped their math book so tight their knuckles went white, and they turned away to continue to class. They’d have to ask the teacher to go to the nurse once they got there, but anywhere was better than this hallway right now. Chara’s tormentors had a different plan for Chara. 

 

“Yeah, that’s right. Walk away; like the nerdy little pussy you are.” 

 

Okay, so maybe that shouldn’t have hurt Chara as much as it did, but Chara’s eleven and their emotional state is already a crumbling mess. So it did sting a little too much, which added onto the sting of their nose. And now, suddenly Chara was too angry to care about their nose, or class, or any consequences. They had had  _ enough _ . 

 

Reality blurred for a moment, in a flash of pure red, and once it had cleared, Chara found themself standing over the boy who had mocked them. The boy’s arms were covered in little buttercups, and he was staring at them in confusion. 

 

“What the fuck-” Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly screamed out in pain. Chara stared, horrified, as the boy struggled to pull the buttercups off his arms. “What the fuck!! They burn! What the fuck did you do, you fucking freak! They  _ burn _ !! Get them off of me!! Ow!! OW!!” The boy was practically howling now, attracting the attention of everyone in the hall. A crowd had formed around the boy, several kids and a hall monitor attempting to take the buttercups off but with no success. Chara was, somehow, lost in the crowd. They looked down at their hands, their math book mysteriously gone, and noticed the little buttercup in their palm. 

 

“Oh no,” Chara whispered, backing up. “I did it again.” Without a second’s hesitation, they clenched their fist as tight as they could. Suddenly, the buttercups were gone on the boy’s arms and in Chara’s hand; the only sign they were even there in the first place being little irritation spots on the boy’s arms. Through the hub-bub of getting the boy to the nurse, Chara slipped their way through the crowd and dashed for the nearest stairwell. Once they reached it, they squeezed their eyes shut and felt reality shift. 

 

They opened their eyes and found themself in the forest. Their forest. 

 

The forest lying right outside their home village. 

 

They sat down, curled up in a ball, and cried.

 

\--- 

 

Frisk was pulled from Chara’s memories with a harsh gasp. Chara still lay in their ball, but they had stopped crying, at least. Frisk felt their own sadness wash over them. The situation was awful, but understandable. Chara is quick to anger, and they don’t have quite the grasp on their magic as Frisk or Asriel does. This, sadly, has not been the first time Chara has lashed out with magic, and they both know that. Frisk thinks that’s why it has bothered Chara the most; because they had promised not only Toriel, but Frisk, that they would keep their emotions under control until they had a better grasp on their magic. 

 

“ _ Chara, that wasn’t your fault _ ,” Frisk signed, causing Chara to sit up straight. 

 

“What do you  _ mean  _ it wasn’t my fault!?” Chara shouted in anger. “I could have killed that kid! Sure, the buttercups don’t do much on their own, but they have karmic retribution tied to them! They hurt until I make them  _ stop  _ hurting! And you know what? I almost didn’t want to stop them! I wanted to watch that kid  _ die _ ! That’s messed up, Frisk!  _ I’m  _ messed up!! I shouldn’t have magic, I shouldn’t have you guys. Hell, I SHOULDN’T EVEN  _ BE  _ HERE RIGHT NOW!!” 

 

The birds silenced their song, and the forest was now eerily silent. Chara’s outburst hung in the air like a pulsing wave of energy before wilting away, leaving Chara hunched over and sobbing. 

 

“I sh-shouldn’t b-be here...I d-don’t want t-to be here…” Chara mumbled as tears dripped onto the ground. Frisk knew better than to hug Chara during an emotional episode, so they settled for rubbing Chara’s shoulder as they cried. Chara cried for a while, but eventually they were out of tears to cry, and they allowed Frisk to hug them. 

 

Frisk broke the hug after about a minute and tilted Chara’s head so they were looking at Frisk. They went to sign, but after considering it, felt being verbal was going to be more effective in getting their point across. 

 

“Did I ever tell you about the time I froze time?” Frisk whispered. Chara tilted their head in confusion. “Yeah, well...I did. I froze time once.” Chara wasn’t sure how to react; they knew Frisk had a bit more magic that they hadn’t been sharing with anyone, but they never would have guessed that time manipulation was going to be in Frisk’s magical repertoire. “Do you wanna know why I did?” Chara nodded. Frisk smiled and took a deep breath. 

 

“Well, I was at recess, and I was on the swings with Kid. Since they don’t have arms, we take turns as to who pushes who. And it was my turn, so I was pushing them, and then suddenly bam! I’m knocking into Kid on the swings and we both flip over the seat and land on the ground. And I look up and it’s that kid, George. The eighth grader who you burned. Well, he asked me why I pushed my friend off the swings, and I shook my head to let him know I hadn’t done that. But, he was pretty convincing, and Kid started to think I had done it too. They started telling me about how if I wanted my turn I could have just asked, and the boy was talking so loud and suddenly there was a crowd and everything was just so loud and I hate loud and then….” Frisk took another deep breath and steadied themself to this Earth. “Everything went silent. And I looked up and noticed everyone was frozen still. And then I looked around and noticed  _ everything  _ was frozen still. Everything except for me. And I panicked; I panicked immediately and ran and hid. I hid for what was probably two hours before I finally realized I hadn’t unfrozen time yet. So, I squeezed my eyes shut, and suddenly I could hear noise. It was all muffled, since I was in the broom closet, but it was there.” 

 

Frisk’s ears were ringing at a frequency too high for them to bear any longer, so they picked up their hands and continued like that. 

 

“ _ What I’m trying to tell you is, you can’t help that sort of stuff sometimes. We’re some of the only humans who still use magic, and we’re still learning our own abilities. And Mom did tell us that emotion would always be tied to our magic, no matter how well we control it. Now, with my ability to keep my magic under wraps, do you want to know how long ago I froze time _ ?” Chara nodded. “ _ Two weeks ago. _ ” Chara’s eyes widened; Frisk has always been so good at managing their magic! Chara could not believe Frisk was capable of outbursts like that. 

 

“B-But, I hurt someone, Frisk. And this isn’t the first time, either!! I should be punished for this! I shouldn’t live anymore if I’m going to be a constant hazard to others!” Chara cried out. 

 

“ _ And did I not hurt anyone by freezing time _ ?  _ I’m sure if people knew what had happened, they would not be so happy with me. Plus, do you remember that time I used fire magic on someone in the park _ ?  _ You’re not the only one who’s struggling with magic and emotions, Chara. _ ” Frisk replied, their smile patient and genuine. “ _ And that’s okay! We’re allowed to struggle and mess up! We’re kids, Chara! Kids mess up a lot! It’s a part of the learning process! So, don’t think you don’t belong here because you’ve messed up. You can get past this, Chara, I know you can. _ ” 

 

Chara sniffled and pulled Frisk in for a hug. Frisk was a big weenie, a crybaby, and Chara’s “better half”. But in times of need, Frisk was especially a friend. They were one of the few reasons Chara has not carried out their thoughts of disappearing. Plus Chara figured if they ran away, Frisk would find them two days later and ask where they were going. They were just that kind of person; trusting to the point of it being a little bad. But Chara appreciated that, and Frisk knew that they did. 

 

\---

 

The two remained in that hug for a while, until Frisk’s pocket buzzed. Frisk pulled away to check their phone, and their merry smile dropped into a look of pure horror. 

 

“Shit.” They said aloud. Chara furrowed their brows and tried to look at Frisk’s phone. 

 

“What’s the matter?” Chara asked. Frisk looked at them and then showed them the time. 

 

7:15 PM. 

 

Chara had escaped around 12:15 PM. 

 

Frisk had found Chara around 2 PM. 

 

They had been sitting here for over  _ five hours  _ without telling anyone. 

 

“Well, I guess I’m going to be getting some consequences in the end, ain’t I?” 

 

“ _ Not just you this time, partner _ .” 

**Author's Note:**

> Chara's Magic: Their primary attack is fire, which was the first thing they learned with Toriel. However, their personal magic has two forms. Their basic attack are buttercups, which are relatively harmless, but because they have a lot of Karmic Retribution, they are quite powerful. Chara is the only one who can get the buttercups off once they have hit a target. Their stronger attack comes in the form of a knife (looking kind of like the one you pick up in the no-mercy run) and that packs a lot of punch but takes a lot out of Chara. Besides their personal magic, they have begun to learn healing magic and have minor teleportation abilities. 
> 
> Frisk's Magic: They don't have a primary attack, since they do not like to fight, though they have a strong grasp of both fire magic and bone magic. They are an incredible healer, and they have the ability to start and stop time (kind of like how Sans does it in his fight where everything goes black and suddenly you're in a different area). Their personal attack is nature-based, and usually involes large branches and other such things being shot at a target or pinning them places. This attack is extremely draining, so Frisk has only ever used it once. Mainly, they just use other magic which they learn from their family if they are ever sparring or have to attack. They are currently trying to learn how to summon spears from Undyne.


End file.
